Drop-leaf hinges



United States Patent 2,946,083 DROP-LEAF HINGES Ken Fryar, Michigan City, Ind., and Leslie Diamond, Gardner, Mass., assignors to Conant Ball Company, Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Apr. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 731,230

6 Claims. (Cl. 16-135) and table proper, are in common alinement.

1 Still more particularly, the invention deals with a hinge structure of the character described, wherein the hinge andits mounting in the'table and leaf are concealed when the drop-leaf is in it's depending or inoperative position.

a The novel features of the invention will be best understood frointhe following description, when. taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodimnts of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a small diagrammatic view, illustrating part of a table, showing a pair of drop-leaves in depending position in full lines and in raised operative position in dot-dash lines, the showing of the hinges being purely diagrammatic.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the hinge at one side of the table and drop-leaf with the drop-leaf in extended operative position and illustrating the apertured or recessed portion of the table top for reception of the companion hinge, the latter being not shown; and

Fig. 3 is a section substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the leaf in dropped position.

To generally illustrate the table and drop-leaf structure, we have diagrammatically illustrated, in Fig. l of the drawing, the table top '10, part of the supporting legs of which are indicated at 11 and at 12 are shown two drop-leaves in their depending or inoperative position in full lines and in their raised operative position in dotdash lines. It will be noted, from a consideration of Fig. 3 of the drawing, that the hinge side of the drop-leaf is bevelled, as at 13, so as to maintain the upper inner corner portion 14- of the leaf in close proximity to the undersurface 15 of the table top 10, as noted in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and also to bring this corner 14- in close proximity to the sides 16 of the table top 10 when the leaves are in raised operative position, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. In this latter operative position of the leaf, the upper surface of the leaves 12 will be in common alinement with the upper surface of the table top.

The object of our invention is to provide a hinge structure which will securely and firmly support drop-- leaves in the operative position, as well as in the dropped position while, at the same time, maintaining the hinge structures concealed at all times. It will be apparent that, with drop-leaf tables of the type and kind under consideration, means are employed for support of the 6 2,946,083 Patented, July ,26, 1.980.

2 leaves in raised position, but this means is not illustrated, asit would form no part of the present invention.

Our improved hinge construction comprises two butt parts 17 and 18; The part 17 has spaced oppositely directed apertured mounting plates 19 adapted to be fixed to the undersurface of the drop-leaf, as by screws 20, note Fig. 2 of the drawing, the plate 19 being integrally joined in a depending elongated central plate portion or bar 21 terminating, at one end, in an oflset or hookshaped arm 22. The free end portion of the arm is offset beyond the surfaces of the plates 19, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, and is apertured to receive a pintle pin 23. One edge of the arm is rounded, as seen at 24, and the opposed edge is recessed or curved, as seen at 25 in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

, The butt 18 comprises a substantially rectangular mounting or attaching plate 26, preferably having four apertures for reception of attaching screws 27 forsup port of the plate-26 upon the undersurface' of the table top10. In Fig. 2 of the drawing, only one of the pair of hinges is shownin order. to clearly portray theapertured or socket portion 28 on;the -undersurface ofthe table top -10. The socket portion 28 comprises an elongated narrow part 29 opening'centrally into a wider transverse part 30, thus forming whatj-may be termeda T-shaped socket 28 for reception of'the'pivot end portions of the two butts, part of whichcomprises the arm 22 and the other part of which comprises the spaced cylindrical'pintle bearings 31 of the butt118' in which the pintle 23 is mounted.

The bearings 3-1 areforrned 'on the butt 18'bybifurcatingsaid end portion of the butt, asby the elongated aper ture 33 which'extends' an appreciable distance onto'the attaching plate 26. Between the end edge of the plate 26 proper and the bearings 31 are ofiset plate portions 32. It will appear from a consideration of Fig. 3 of the drawing that the cylindrical bearings 31 are, for the major part, offset with respect to surfaces of said plate portions, thus disposing the axes of said bearings offset with respect to said plate portions. Considering Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will appear that the arm 22 or the plane thereof is at right angles to the plane of the attaching plate 26 and fits snugly but freely between adjacent surfaces of the cylindrical bearings 31 and in the aperture 33 in movement of the drop-leaf from its extended position, as shown in Fig. 2, to its dropped or inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 3.

The socket 28 is sufiiciently deep to receive the butt parts extending thereinto when the butt parts are in fixed position upon the undersurfaces of the table top and drop-leaf. The recessed portion 25 of the arm is such as to clear the outer wall portion 34 of the socket 28 when the drop-leaf is in the raised operative position.

With our improved construction, a very simple and economical form of hinge structure is provided for. the intended purpose and one which can be simply and economically applied and, when in use, will support a drop-leaf firmly in both operative and inoperative positions, maintaining in both positions the unobstructed and finished appearance between the leaf and the table top and maintaining the hinge structure concealed from external vision.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hinge comprising two butts, one butt comprising an elongated bar having a laterally extending mounting plate arranged at right angles thereto, the bar projecting from one surface of the plate, the bar having, at itsfree end, a hook-shaped arm spaced from the mounting plate, the free end of said arm extending beyond the other surface of said plate, the other butt comprising an attaching plate, the plane of said arm being at right angles to 3 the plane of said plate, olfset parts extending integrally from an end edge of said attaching plate, said oflset parts terminating in spaced cylindrical pintle bearings, the end of said hook-shaped arm havinga bearing positioned between said spaced cylindrical pintle bearings, the axesof the pintle bearings being offset with respect to said oifset parts, a pintle in the bearing of said arm and arranged axially of said cylindrical pintle bearings for hingedly coupling said butts, the second named butt having an elongated aperture, bifurcating one end thereof to form said cylindrical bearings and ofiset parts, and said arm operating in said elongated aperture in movement of the butts into open and closed position.

2. A hinge as defined in claim 1, wherein the offset parts of the second named butt are disposed at right angles to the attaching plate.

3. A hinge as defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting plate and attaching plate of said butts are disposed in a common plane when the hinge is in open position.

4. A hinge as defined in claim 3, wherein the mounting plate and the attaching plate of said butts are disposed at right angles to each other when the hinge is in closed position.

5. A hinge as defined in claim 1, wherein said offset parts project from the inner surface of the attaching plate, and the major part of the hook-shaped arm projects from said inner surface of the mounting plate of the first named butt when the hinge is in closed position.

6. A hinge comprising two butts, one butt having a mounting plate, the other butt having an attaching plate, said mounting and attaching plates being arranged in common alinement in one position of the butts and at right angles to each other in another position thereof, one butt having an elongated bar extending at right angles to one surface of the mounting plate thereof, said bar terminating at oneiend in an offset arm spaced with respect to the mounting plate of said one butt, the arm having an apertured end projecting beyond the other surface of said mounting plate, the plane of said arm being at right angles to the plane of said attaching plate, the attaching plate of the other butt being bifurcated at one end portion to form integral offset parts arranged substantially at right angles to an edge portion of said attaching plate, said offset parts terminating in a pair of spaced cylindrical pintle bearings, the apertured end of said arm being positioned between adjacent surfaces of said cylindrical pintle bearings, a pintle arranged in the aperture of said arm and axially of the cylindrical pintle bearings for hingedly coupling said butts, the major portion of the cylindrical pintle bearings projecting beyond one surface of said offset parts to dispose the axes of said bearings offset with respect to said surface, the bifurcation of said end portion of the attaching plate being formed by an aperture extending onto said attaching plate, and said arm operating in said aperture in movement of the butts into open and closed positions.

References Cited In the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 108,000 Blake Oct. 4, 1870 156,784 Gesser Nov. 10, 1874 1,348,813 Landine Aug. 3, 1920 1,472,575 Anderson Oct. 30, 1923 1,695,110 Krick Dec. 11, 1928 2,312,029 Conwell Feb. 23, 1943 2,763,889 Bednarski Sept. 25, 1956 2,815,529 Herholsheimer et al Dec. 10, 1957 2,820,242 Erickson Jan. 21, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 154,705 Sweden June 5, 1956 172,730 Great Britain Dec. 14, 1921 283,315 Great Britain Jan. 12, 1928 

